Stabilizing device for articulated vehicles



Aug. 15, 1950 R. Q. ARMINGTON ETAL 2,518,742

STABILIZING DEVICE FOR ARTICULATED VEHICLES Filed Aug. 17, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG-2 INVENTORS RAYMOND Q. ARMINGTON & WALTER F. DOUBLE ATTORNEYS 1950 R. Q. ARMINGTON ETAL 4 STABILIZING DEVICE FOR ARTICULATED VEHICLES Filed Aug. 17, 1946 3 Shee'ts-Sheet z INVENTORS RAYMOND Q. ARMINGTON& FIG-4 WALTER F. DOUBLE ATTORNEYS Aug. 15, 1950 R. Q. ARMINGTON ETAL 2,518,742

STABILIZING DEVICE FOR ARTICULATED VEHICLES FIG-7 INVENTORS RAYMOND Q. ARMINGTON & FIG-8 WALTER F. DOUBLE %,7 V, am 06% ATTORNEYS l atented Aug.

IQ N E STATES PATENT. OFFICE f ST ABILIZING DEVICE FOR ARTICULATED VEHICLES v V 7 Raymond Q. Armington,' Shakerv Heights, and Walter F. Double,-Wickli&e, Ohio, assignors to The Euclid Road Machinery 00., Euclid, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio g Application August 17, 1346, S erial:No. 691, 354

invention relates to improvements in a "stabilizing device for tractors having tandem axles. An object of the present invention is to provide in the'combination of a tractor and trailer drawn thereby, means for permitting relatively unrestricted movement of the tractor wheels and axles when traveling in a more or less straight line over rough ground; but which reduces movement of the tractor noseup'and down, a motion known pitching, when the tractor is turned at an angle to the trailer. A further object of the invention is to prevent the nose of an overhung tractor from dropping 1 down toward the ground when the tractor is -*turned at right angles to its associated trailer about a hitch axis.

A further object of the invention is found in :thecombination of parallel tandem axles carried S :by rocker beams which oscillate. about a central trunnion, wherein means is provided to limit the oscillation of the tandem axles about the trunnion piv'otpoint when the tractor is traveling over rough ground. r

'- 5 one form of the invention, means is pro videdwhereby the limit of the pitching action of :the tractor is less when the tractor and trailer are moving in a straight line, andthe limiting action is gradually modified as the'tractor assumes an angle to the trailer. f the invention, a rough'limitation upon the "pitching of the tractor is provided without the graduated action of the first form.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and descriptionand the essential features will be summarized in the appended claims. 15 In the drawings,

Fig.- 1 is a side elevational view of a tractortrailer device embodying our invention;

I Fig. 2 is an end sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 3 is atop plan view taken along the line' -.3--3'of Fig. 4; Y Y

:1 Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line .4-4 of Fig. 3; I

1? Fig. 5Lis a fragmental sectional view taken '-:-.alongthe line 5.5"o'f Fig. 3; Y 7

In another'form 8.0laims. (c1. 280533) i Fig. 6 is a top plan View of a modified form of :our device taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 7 isa' sectional view taken along the line '1 of Fig. 6; while Fig. 8 is a rear elevational view taken along the line 8"8 of Fig. 7. v In Fig. 1 we have shown a tractor It having mounted at its forward end an engine II which is driven and controlled from a drivers seat'l2.

The rear end of the tractor is supported by a tandem axle arrangement which is more fully disclosed and claimed in the copending application of Raymond Q. Armington, Serial No.

610,611, filed August 13, 1945, now Patent No. 2,422,460 issued June l7, 1947, to which reference maybe had for a more complete description if necessary Suiiice it to say here that on each {side oigthe tractor a rocker beam I3 is provided a trunnion mounting at I4 on extensions of an axle housing' l5 fixed to the frame or" the'tractor 10. "'A pair of wheels 16 are rotatably mounted on stub axles ll, one near each end of each rocker beam l3; Means; not shown, is provided whereby the tractor drives the wheels Hi. In the 'copending application there is shown a tractor propeller shait'which drives floating axles inside ,thehousing 15,.and each of these floating axles drives a'double sprocket in the center of one of the rockerbeamsl3 from which chains lead back to axles in the stub axle housing I! whereby the wheels 16 are driven.

In Fig. 1 we have shown the trailer as consist- ,ing of a bottom dump wagon 18, but this is shown merely as an illustration, and by no means as a limitation upon our invention, as obviously, other types of trailer. vehicles would operate in the same manner. The supportifor the trailer is by .way, of a; pair of-rear' wheels 19, a front drawbar '20 and a hitch device 2 I. This hitch device comprises an inner sleeve 2 la attached to the tractor, and an'outer sleeve 2| 1; attached to the trailer androtatable about the inner sleeve. The means bar 26 connected between the rear ends of the rocker beams IS in such a manner as to permit relative up and down movement between these rocker beams. In the form shown, one end of this bar is held beneath a strap 21 which is welded or otherwise secured to one of the rocker beams, While the opposite end of the bar is pivotally connected by the horizontally extending pivot pins 28 to the rear end of the other rocker beam. In approximately the center of the stabilizer bar there is rigidly fixed a braclget g9 converges ne s fihe bar 29 an i s point where a rollerSB is pivotally supported on stub shaft 3| mounted in the bracket.

Means on the trailer is provided to coact with the roller 30 so as to permit relatively freemo 1 ment of the roller 30 and the stabilizer bar in an up and down direction when the tractor and trailer are in fore-and-ai-t alinement. This means is so constructed and arranged as toprovide less of this relative movement between the roller 30 and the control means the rtefigr on the trailer when the tractor and trailer are turned at an angle to each other as when negotiating a 1 curve or turning around.

The above means coacting with the roller: 30 is here" shown as comprising. upper and'lower guide'plates 32 and 33 respectively, which are substantially semi-circular in projected plan View as seen. in Rig. 3. Each of; these. plates has a fiat horizontal rear portion 320. and 33a. and the for.- r ons converge toward each other, namehe. p rtion :11 ncli ed downw rdly. and the mention ib nc i ed upwardly. The. upper plate 31 i i id y. @Qnn cted wi t e uter sleeve 21b a? t e s e ba 3 hr of; we di at, the Points o on ac and; by means oi th ai .2: hares sse pl tes 32 el a b 1. r 'll'e 2 5. a proxinit en t ee 't p s t i and and trailer are'jin' fore-andunder such conditions a I z the stabilizeifbar in an up 'doy/n v w is possible withoufany" limit 3 of t e. Ijbllgr 30 striking plate portion 320! 1'' 331a. l l oweyer, on extreme relative"movementjbetween opposite ends of stabilizer'bar' 26 or uponfextrme' tendency. of the nose of-the' tractor to travel upward or. downward; the roller acmay arrive at the liiiiitingupper and lower positions indicated in dashdotrdot-dash lines in Fig. 4-. I '1 Obviously, as relative turning inc tement occurs between the tractorIand trailer about the vertical. axis of the hitch 24., the roller 30 will move relative to the. plates 32 and 33so that as it, comes opposite the. sloping portions 321). (on either. side) the movement. of ro'ller..30-;in.an up and; down. direction, is. more, and. more, restricted as the. plate portions 32bland. 3,312. converge. If desi ed hep es. ma sglc nveree as. shownin s- 4, ha wh roller Mtmac esth dQ 1Qa h bosition Q i all; 2 sllbstent lln all moveat. h s miles-- s aee; 19m resz is prevented. When the tractor and trailer are at an angle to each other and the movement of roller 33 is restricted by engagement with either plate 32 or 33, at such times, the rear end of one of the rocker beams I3 will be prevented from moving farther in one direction by engagement of roller 30 with one of the plates 32 or 33. Prior to such engagement, the forward end of the tractor has been oscillating about the trunnion M. After such engagement, the tractor must oscill t s ee t he a of t e o -Wa d whe l. The s it-Q 9 thi r str n at 9 nma es stabilizing device is to shift the pivoting axis ahead which, of course, stabilizes the tractor.

When the tractor is turned at substantially "right angles to the trailer about the hitch 2| and the roller reaches the dot-dash position gig. 4, there would be a tendency for the heavy me s the tractor to fall down to the ground it it were not for. the holding of the roller 30 between the plates 32 and 33. Prior devices known to us have prevented the movement of the trac- "tor to this right angle position relative to the trailertin order to preserve the stability of the tractor. With our device this is unnecessary see are ena led t9. the ract txaiiei embina ion in a very short ad tea ich share in Piss s. t and 8.

dius.

In the the n, 6 s .1; and does atte e hin oi the treeterm 1:

. i nte a. teen?! seeiases n th s eq l esarce are. carr l-1 haste Ease Wei-e are ie ne as e feistmo ific tion ar sire simi a ra l-geese tea -e ters ans twen ies. be given 'only of those parts which trope t sfis i et el bseie The r me ll l e whichare: drivenby explained i'ri'co'nn'ection with the desgrgbeg tmt Her he a 49; is. at szt ni qtsllh QQQQIQ ket 43 es ihaethsr aset e naesthetisiids fe l ed. openins- 4' Whis nmates 2 2 45; ca b bra st meet Q rqclger beam}; ill yfi Q3211 movement he t. the g sit i qt;

iliect set s? E q fz'bh 'fi with. This tongue comprises a vertigah we 41a Wei h el ed; t at he slat hi b sh s wings 48 extending-arc ndtheaxlehousingv. t5 @Qd; KQlQQd; he eto. he lower.- end; of; plate-41a is braced by a bottom plate 49 which iswelded ta. heaxhhousing and; the centerwofl thegplate 49 is stifiened by means of a rib 50: To theirear end :ofmlatefla; are welded-1a short verticahplate 5| and a U-shaped plate 52. The; platelibhasa leg; 52a, flared: upwardly; to. provide; the upper control surface for the stabilizerabari Thelother leg 52b of plate-52 m" flarcdpdownwardly to providealqwer contrelsurface. It "is believed the'operationjof the second form of our device will now be apparent jwh'atever the positionof the'tractor relative to the trailer, the stabilizer bar 40 will rest approximately. in the fu l ine po of Bis.- :-71;:w he ii l c i levelqeround Wh the act r pi h s-abecause of oscillation ofoneor both of the-rocker beams l3, the stabilizer bar willbe' carried either u wa d y ord wn a d the m t ch m vement being the upper and lower dot-dash positions indicated in Fig. 7. When the stabilizer bar engages either the surface 520:. or 52b, further oscillation of the rocker beams about the trunnions I4 becomes impossible and the device oscillates about the forward wheels 16. This reduces the pitching and stabilizes the action of the overhung tractor I0. In the case of this second modification, the stabilizing action is'the same whether the tractor is in alinement with the trailer or turned at an angle thereto, because the control surfaces 52a. and 52b always turn with the tractor. In actual practice, this provides sufficient stabilizing action to give a very satisfactory vehicular action.

In both of the above described modifications, we have shown a stabilizing bar for limiting the oscillation of the rocker beams at the rear ends thereof solely because that location has appeared to us to be the most desirable. We realize, however, that the means for limiting the oscillation of the tandem axles about their normal center of oscillation might be placed nearer the front tandem axle or at some intermediate point. It

will be understood by those skilled in this art that our invention is aimed to include any similar means for limiting the oscillation of the tandem axles about the normal center of oscillation when a predetermined limit has been reached so that thereafter, the vehicle frame oscillates about one of the wheel means, thus giving astabilizing action to the vehicle and limiting the pitching action.

What we claim is:

1. In combination, a tractor frame, two rocker beams each having a central pivotal mounting one on each side of said frame toward the rear end thereof, a pair of wheels carried by each rocker beam, one wheel forward of and one wheel rearward of said pivotal mounting, a stabilizer bar connected between the rear ends of said rocker beams in a manner permitting relative up and down movement between said beams, a trailer hitched to said tractor for, oscillation relative thereto about a generally vertical axis, coacting means on said bar and on said trailer permitting greater relative movement in an up and down direction between said bar and trailer when said tractor and trailer are in fore-and-aft alinement, and said coasting means having cooperative parts permitting lesser relative movement in an up and down direction between said bar and trailer when said tractor is turned relative to said trailer about said vertical axis.

2. In combination, a tractor frame, two rocker beams each having a central pivotal mounting one on each side of said frame toward the read end thereof, a pair of wheels carried by each rocker beam, one wheel forward of and one wheel rearward of said pivotal mounting, astabilizer bar connected between the rear ends of said rocker beams in a manner permitting relative up and down movement between said beams, a trailer hitched to said tractor for oscillation relative thereto b ut; a ge era v ve l xis: w s -m m s l d a an on sa t a r P rm n stea la vezmo m i a 1 a d, qw re t de between said-bar andtrailer when said tr ctor and trailer are in fore-and-aft alinement and said coacting means having cooperative parts permittingsubstantially no relative movementin an up ,and down direction between said bar and trailer'when said tractor is turned relative to said trailer about said vertical axis. 1' 3. In combination, a tractorframe, two rocker beams each having a central pivotal mounting one pn :each side of said frame-toward messes.

end thereof, a;- pairof wheels] carried by each rocker beam, one wheel forward of and one wheel rearward of said pivotal mounting, a stabilizer bar connected between the rear ends of said rocker beams in a manner permitting relative up and down movement between said beams, a. trailer hitched to said tractor for oscillation relative thereto about a generally vertical axis, a roller rotatably mounted in the mid portion of said bar, cam surfaces rigid with said trailer and lying above and below said roller when said tractor and trailer are in foreand -aft alinement and when said tractor is turned relative to said trailer, and said cam surfaces being more widely separated at the point where they register with said roller when said tractor and trailer are in fore-and-aft alinement. I r

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said cam surfaces so converge as to substantially engage said roller above and below the same when said tractor is turned at approximately right angles to said trailer.

5. In combination, a tractor frame, two rocker beams each having a central pivotal mounting one on each side of said frame toward the rear end thereof, a pair of wheels carried by each rockerbeam, one wheel forward of and one wheel rearward of said pivotal mounting, a stabilizer bar connected between the rearv ends of said rocker beams in a manner permitting relative up and down movement between said beams, and means limiting the movement of said stabilizer bar in an up-and-down direction.

6. In combination, a tractor frame, two rocker beams each having a central pivotal mounting one on each side of said frame toward the rear end thereof, a pair of wheels carried by each rocker beam, one wheel forward of and one wheel rearward of said pivotal mounting, a stabilizer bar connected between the rear ends of said rocker beams in a manner permitting relative up and down movement between said beams, a trailer hitched to said tractor, and means carried by said trailer for limiting the movement of said stabilizer bar in an up-and-down direction.

7. In combination, a tractor frame, two rocker beams each having a central pivotal mounting one on each side of said frame toward the rear end thereof, a pair of wheels carried by each rocker beam, one wheel forward of and one wheel rearward of said pivotal mounting, astabilizer bar connected between the rear ends of said rocker beams in a manner permitting relative up and down movement between said beams, a trailer hitched to said tractor, and means carried by one of said vehicles for limiting the movement "of said stabilizer bar in an up-and-down direction, said last named means having parts for limiting bar movement more when said tractor and trailer are at an angle and other parts for limiting bar movement less when said tractor and trailer are alined.

;'B'. Incomb1nation, a vehicle having a, frame; t'wq'i-ocker beams each having a central pivotal mounting one on eaeh side of said frame, said yivotal mountings being axially alined, traction devices carried by said beams, a-sta'bflizer bar connected between the ends of said rocker beams bathe same side of said pivotal mountings, said bar and beam connections being so constructed and arranged as to permit relative up-and-dewn movement between sai'zkbeams, and stop means on said vehicle limiting the movement of said ctubfliz er bar in an up-and-down direction.

' RAYMOND Q. ARMINGTON.

F. DOUBLE.

REFERENGES CITED The .fellowing re erences are oi reset?! in th me of this etent;

111mm PATENTzfi Number Name Date 2,124,149 Redhead July 19 1938 2,219,533 R05 Y Get. 29. 1940 2,265,986 Allin Dec, 16, 1941 1 2,370,988 Neal Mar. 6, 1945 2,400,522 Lantz May '21, 194.6 

